1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to the field of public computing infrastructures. More particularly, the present invention is related to a system and method for enabling a personal computing experience on a public computing infrastructure.
2. Description
A majority of people in the world today want access to personal computers (PCs) and the Internet, but cannot afford the cost of owning a personal computer (PC) or the cost of subscribing to an Internet service. One alternative for people that cannot afford to own an Internet-connected PC is a public computing infrastructure. Public computing infrastructures, like Internet Cafés and the like, are very popular solutions in emerging markets today.
The typical user experience in an Internet Café (iCafé) is poor when compared to a privately owned PC. For example, a user's personal preferences, preferred applications, and personal data are not available at login. The user has to rely on limited functionality of browser-based applications/services and carry personal data on a transportable medium. Media intensive usage models, such as, for example, audio, video, and photo collection, are impractical as they require users to carry and configure their own high capacity portable drives. To play a game, the user must carry the original compact disc (CD) so that it can be installed each time the user visits the Internet Café and the game status must be saved on a portable medium. In other words, a user is not able to keep anything persistent on the computer. These inconveniences limit the usage of public computers.
Operations of an Internet Café can be complex and offer the user very limited quality of service (QoS). For example, system operators cannot ensure that a public computer is safe after a user has finished a session. Software installations by a user, virus attacks, system file removal, etc. are just some of the events that may put a public computer in an unusable or unsafe state. Such events require frequent re-building of the public computers, which also reduces overall availability of the public computers.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method for enabling a user to have a personal computing experience in a public computing infrastructure, such as, for example, an iCafé or the like. What is also needed is a system and method for enabling a user of a public computing infrastructure to maintain a persistent state for later repeat use.